A word about copy editing
Over the past several years, I’ve seen the job of copy editor change radically.
As a Web copy editor, I juggle three responsibilities: editing, designing and production. I still fix factual mistakes, untangle confusing copy and jolt sleepy passages awake with some verbal caffeine. I still write the headline, even if it’s an SEO headline.
But now I’m also concerned with making a story that looks good in print look good on the Web. Can I capture what the print designer did in a screen grab? Should I line up three photos side-by-side using Photoshop? Should I hand-code a map or chart into the body of the story or let the content management system display it off to the side?
Finally, I dig in and get my hands dirty with the nuts-and-bolts aspect of Web production. On a newspaper desk or working freelance from home, speed counts. Routine tasks must be done quickly — coding with HTML, cropping and toning with Photoshop, burning audio clips — all under deadline pressure.
Glamorous it’s not, but it has its satisfactions. I pride myself on being able to take an entire section of a newspaper and efficiently wrestle it into a Web section that is accurate and aesthetically pleasing, both verbally and visually. It’s an adrenaline thing, I guess. When I’m done, I run down to the snack bar (or my kitchen) and grab a candy bar or something to celebrate. That’s the other thing you should know about copy editors — we’re notoriously wild and crazy.
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